Skincare queen Liz Earle is not afraid of roughing it on business trips and
has bedded down in cockroach and mosquito infested hotels in her pursuit of
the best ingredients for her beauty products.
“In Uganda, I stayed somewhere euphemistically called a hotel,” she said. “It
did have a bed and mosquito net but when I took it down it looked like lace
because it was so full of holes. As well as mosquitoes, I also shared the
room with fleas and cockroaches, and my shower was a hosepipe with a large
plastic bucket. But hey, the beer was cold and the people were friendly.”
Earle, 46, is a skincare beauty specialist, author, TV presenter and
co-founder of the Liz Earle range of products. Her company, Liz Earle Beauty
Co, employs 350 people, makes undisclosed profits and is an official sponsor
of Cowes Week in the Isle of Wight, where the company is based.
Earle has travelled to destinations as diverse as Uganda, Malawi, Turkey and
France to source ingredients for her skincare products, and Los Angeles to
attend awards ceremonies.
Did you enjoy the Uganda trip?
The conditions I’ve described are luxurious compared to what the local people
have, so you have to keep things in perspective.
It is very satisfying work. We are working with women’s co-operatives and
communities to source sustainable products and of course, we pay for them.
We get some great ingredients and they get rewarded and you do see some
tangible benefits. In Malawi, we paid for the re-roofing of a school.
How did you travel to Uganda?
I have a home in Kenya and from there I went on Kenya Airways to Kampala and
then you really are into the bush with a few of you on an eight-seater
aircraft, and you literally drop down into a dust strip. The north of Uganda
used to be very dangerous but it is more peaceful now. Still, you have to be
mindful that you are in a developing country and there is the possibility of
civil war.
How did you get around when you were there?
We had a three-hour journey by car into scrub land to find the conker-like
ingredients for shea butter which is a skin softener. The car broke down
every 15 minutes and at one point the radiator exploded and filled the car
with steam. It was hot enough already.
How did you enjoy Malawi?
